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![]() ![]() The best piece on this album is a Chuck Berry whitewash called "Let Me Rock 'n' Roll You." Ten Years After is quite adept at playing this quasi-Berry stuff, but I with they hadn't tacked on many banal sound effects to spruce the song up.Īlvin Lee's lyrics have always served as merely adequate vocal companions to his instrumental pyrotechnics, but the words on this album border on the senseless and inane. "Hard Monkeys" and "I'd Love to Change the World" contain intriguing guitar riffs, but nothing much else of any distinction. "One of These Days" is a compelling opening track with good all-round instrumentation, even if it does drag on a bit. There are some worthwhile exceptions, however. Although bassist Leo Lyons and drummer Ric Lee provide the band with a foundation that is both workable and firm, Ten Years After does not use this rhythmic support to the best possible advantage. Chick Churchill's potential as an additional soloist, for example, is stupidly wasted by having him play only rhythm accompaniment on piano and organ behind Lee's numerous leads. Vocal melodies and guitar lines are virtually indistinguishable from one song to the next and few arrangements highlight anything besides Alvin Lee and his two, three or four guitar parts. The original material and arrangments are terribly lame. The record is an improvement over the disastrous Watt, but hardly a sufficient one. There are a couple of Alvin Lee guitar specials, several low key attempts at relevant social commentary, and a lot of underdeveloped unsuccessful music. A Space in Time, the group's first album for Columbia, re-hashes most of the material on the last four Ten Years After releases. Like a hamster running on a treadmill, Ten Years After is expending energy without moving. ![]()
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